Weekly Abundance, Vol 09-25

This Week’s Share

Acorn Squash

Chard

Acorn Squash

Sweet Dumpling Squash

Leeks

Lettuce

Parlsey

Radishes, Mizuna or Baby Kale

Farm Life

I harvested leeks this week for the first time.  Last year, it took me a full day to harvest enough leeks for 23 shareholders.  Obviously, that wasn’t very efficient.

This year, I prepared the beds differently and spaced the seedlings further apart.  Today, it took about four hours to harvest for 44 shares, a significant improvement.  However, I would like to see a longer white shank.  So, next year, I will make further refinements.  (See below for a recipe suggestion for your leeks.)

Recipes

I included pumpkins in your share last  week so that you could make your Pumpkin Pies in advance.   For those of you that have never made pumpkin pie from scratch before, here is a link to a well documented recipe, complete with step-by-step photos.  (Note: My family started this recipe over the weekend and found that, contrary to the recipe, one six inch diameter pumpkin was not enough for one pie.  However, most “Pumpkin” pie filling is actually made from butternut squash.  Your pie will taste just fine if you mix butternut squash and pumpkin.)

htttp://www.pickyourown.org/pumpkinpie.php

Last week, I also included fennel in your share so that you could substitute your fennel bulbs for celery in your stuffing recipe.  Emily, from the farm pick up site, sends this recipe for Fennel Cakes to use up the stalks and fronds.  It sounds wonderful.  I can’t wait to try it.  It will be great with omelets for brunch the day after Thanksgiving.

http://www.epicureantable.com/tutwildfennelcakes.htm

Does your family eat Mashed Potatoes with your Thanksgiving dinner?  Here’s an idea that will make them so good you won’t want gravy.  Begin with your German Butterball potatoes.  Most of the nutrients in a potato are in the skin so don’t peel them.  Slice the potatoes in to cubes and steam them.  While the potatoes are steaming, sauté leeks and garlic in butter.  When the potatoes are done, transfer them to an oven proof dish.  Add the garlic/leek mixture and mash.  Add low fat ricotta or cream cheese and blend until the mixture reaches the desired consistency.  Blend in chopped parsley leaves.  Place in a warm oven until serving.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Weekly Abundance Vol. 09-24

This Week’s Vegetables

Bulb Fennel

Fennel

Pea Shoots

Sugar Pie Pumpkins – For your Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie

Delicata Squash

Radishes, Mizuna,  Kale, or Cabbage

Farm Life

This we week have a fairly small share.  As you know, one of the features of a CSA is that the members  share the risk of farming with the farmer.  As your farmer, I do as much as I can to reduce that risk.  But there are a number of factors I can not control, the weather among them.

During the fall and winter, harvesting your share requires about 16 hours of labor.  I generally spend all day Monday and Tuesday harvesting, washing, and packing.  This week though, I arrived at the farm Monday morning  to howling winds.  The farm stand and the structure covering the cooler were rocking back and forth with each gust, and the tarps covering the hen houses were threatening to blow away.  Clearly something had to be done or we would lose them in the storm.

I spent hours battening down the hatches… tightening guy wires on structures, securing the ropes on the tarps, etc.  I didn’t finish until well after lunch time.  Then, just as I set out to harvest, I looked up to see the plastic covering the Shade House blowing away, exposing all your winter squash to the wind and rain.  If you have ever tried to fasten down a big piece of plastic in a fiercely blowing wind by yourself, you know it is no easy task.  Every time you get one section tied down a big gust of wind comes and blows it off again.  By the time I finished it was nearly 4:00pm and there were still eggs to collect and harvesting to be done, and only one hour of daylight left.

This morning, Tuesday, I arrived at the farm early in hopes of catching up.  I arrived to find the Shade House splayed out flat and one of the hen houses blown into a tree.  The perches and nest boxes were still sitting in their usual places, untouched.  They just had no hen house covering them.    The wind had lifted the house up and over and in to the tree 10 feet away.   The poor birds were all huddled up on their perches in the rain.

I’m sure it was quite a comical sight seeing me try to move the hen house back to its original position.  It is awkward and heavy to move with two people, much less one.  At one point, I even got one of the legs caught in a tear in my rain pants and couldn’t pick it up higher, nor set it down.

I didn’t even try to put the Shade House back to rights.  I just propped it up enough to be able to get to your squash.  At the end of the week, I will move all of the squash elsewhere and take the Shade House apart.  It isn’t designed to withstand the weight of snow so was going to have to come down for the winter any way.

Unfortunately, all of these events left little time for harvesting.  The items in the list you see above are all that I can realistically get accomplished before share pick up begins tomorrow afternoon.

Despite all that effort to reposition the hen house, the hens are leaving us.  The entire flock has been purchased by a young farmer from Dayton eager to start his own livestock operation.  He will begin picking up the birds Wednesday.  That means that this will be your last opportunity to purchase farm fresh eggs.  I am reducing the price to $4.00/dzn to make it more affordable for you to stock up.  If your pick up site is in Portland, please be sure you let me know how many dozen you want so that I have enough available at your site.  If you have been saving egg cartons, please do bring them to me.  The Sunshine Food Pantry is in need of them so I will pass them on.

Veggie of the Week

This is the last time you will receive fennel this season.  Try this simple Orange and Fennel Salad with Dried Cranberries.  Though oranges are not locally grown, they are in season.  The addition of the cranberries makes this dish fit right in with the Thanksgiving holiday.  This salad would be great served on a bed of Pea Shoots.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/orange-and-fennel-salad-recipe/index.html.

Weekly Abundance, Vol. 09-23

This Weeks Harvest

Chard

Red Cabbage or Kale

Dumpling Squash

Butternut Squash

Lettuce

Pea Shoots

 

Farm Life

You have something new in your share this week.  Pea shoots, also known as Pea Tendrils, are the immature growing tip of pea plants.  They are more commonly seen in the early spring, before the CSA season begins.  Rather than deprive you of them for the whole year, I planted them as the cool fall weather approached and prayed that the deer wouldn’t eat them.   My prayers were answered.  We have a lovely crop of them.

Washington State University has an informational brochure on pea shoots if you’d like to learn more about them, including how to prepare them.  The brochure is available at http://agsyst.wsu.edu/peashootbroc.pdf

Those of you that have been members of CSA’s before know that your staple vegetables; onions, garlic and potatoes; are generally doled out each week along with your other vegetables.  This is done so that shareholders receive roughly the same number of items from week to week, even when the growing season is coming to a close.

I chose to do things a bit differently this year by giving you your staple items at the beginning of each month.  The primary reason is to save wear and tear on my back.  Potatoes are heavy, as are winter squashes.  Since I have been having trouble with my back since August, I decided to limit myself to one heavy item per share delivery.   So, while your share may seem small this week in comparison to other CSA’s, it is because you’ve already received the potatoes and onions that would otherwise have been included.

Speaking of winter squash… you are now receiving two kinds of winter squash in your shares each week.  Generally speaking, one type has an edible skin and the other does not.  This week, the Dumpling has the edible skin and does not need to be peeled.

To prepare cut off the top, scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp.  Place the squash in a baking pan hollow side up.  Put about 1” of water in the baking pan. Place a dollop of butter, 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon in the center of the squash. Drizzle with real maple syrup.  Bake on the middle rack, uncovered, for 35 or 40 minutes until the squash is soft.

The skin of the Butternut squash is a bit thick.  You will likely want to remove it before eating.  This can be done either before you cook it, or after, depending on how you plan to use it.

Butternut squash is my favorite of the winter squash, partly because there are so many ways to prepare it.  Tonight, I made Butternut and Sage Risotto.  There are many recipes available online for this dish.  You can also substitute Butternut squash in any recipe that calls for pumpkin.

Speaking of pumpkins makes me think of Thanksgiving.  The week before Thanksgiving, you will receive more Sugar Pie Pumpkins so that you can make your pie the weekend before the holiday.

Are you going to be away for Thanksgiving?  If so, please let me know well in advance.  Thanksgiving is the second busiest week of the year for food pantries.  They would much appreciate it if I were to donate your share as early in the week as possible so that they have time to get it distributed.     Remember, if you do not let me know in advance that you are not coming, I am not able to donate your share as the Food Bank is closed by the time pick-up ends.

One final note about Thanksgiving… those of you that usually receive your share on Thursday will receive it on Tuesday, Nov. 24^th instead of the 26th.  Don’t forget to mark your calendar.